the-charmer

by Myra Scott

  “I changed my mind, Zane,” Bart said, wiping a tear from his eye, “maybe I do want to moonlight at La Torre.”

  I elbowed him in the rib, rolling my eyes as I joined in the laughter.

  We pulled up to the doors, and the doorman let all five of us pile out, and as usual, we stood out over all the other crowds. More interestingly, Diego seemed to blend with us perfectly. We were dressed to kill, and all of us were eager for a good time after the stress of the past few days.

  Well, most of us. Clubs weren’t always Mick’s scene, but even he seemed ready to lighten up a little.

  The inside of a high-end Vegas club is an experience that’s hard to get anywhere else in the world. After one of the bouncers let us in, we were greeted by a sight that made me glad to have left my hometown behind.

  The club floor was expansive and dark, and red pattern designs swirled across the floor to give off a dull, glowing light. There were two floors to the club, and glowing red booths were carved into the walls throughout the place, leaving a lot of room for the dance floor. The bars on both floors were sleek and curving, but the eye-catcher was the crystalline cascade of orange lights that poured like a lava flow from the ceiling into a vortex-like shape near the stairs to the second floor.

  “You don’t have many places like this in Madrid,” I said to Diego as I slipped up beside him, giving him a sly smile.

  “We do not, true,” he returned with a laugh. “With places like this around, it’s a miracle anything gets done in Vegas.”

  “The city never fails to surprise. Let’s get some drinks.”

  The five of us piled into a booth, and before long, we had a server taking drink orders from us.

  “A beer. Surprise me,” Bart grunted first.

  “Tom Collins,” Gage requested with a charming smile.

  “Whisky sour,” came Mick’s order.

  I mouthed at Diego, “You like gin?” He blinked a few times before nodding in agreement, and I turned to the server. “Two espresso martinis for us.”

  “Really? You think gin is the more controversial drink than espresso?” he teased me, leaning forward on the table.

  “Look me in the eye and tell me you aren’t a coffee drinker,” I shot back with a wry grin.

  “Guilty as charged,” he admitted, and the group gave a laugh. Our drinks arrived in short order, possibly because some of the staff recognized our faces from the news today, and we raised our drinks to each other.

  “To a brighter future,” I toasted, and our glasses clinked together just before the music on the dance floor started thrumming hypnotically.

  “Okay, let me out, I’m not just going to sit around and miss out on all the good songs,” Gage said, and Mick chuckled as he let him out of the booth. To my surprise, though, he took Mick’s hand and tugged it. “Oh no, you’re coming too!”

  “Wait, what?” Mick said, suddenly alarmed, and Bart playfully nudged him out. “We all are! Come on!”

  Diego and I laughed as the three of them shuffled out to start dancing, and it wasn’t long before Diego turned to raise an eyebrow at me.

  “I don’t think we’ll get away with staying away from the dance floor long, either,” he warned me.

  “Have you ever tried dancing with a martini glass in hand?”

  He tilted his head back and downed half of it in a single swig. I raised my eyebrows, but I wasn’t about to be left in the dust—I did the same, and we shook our heads as the strong double-shots of gin hit us.

  “No, but a few more sips like that and I won’t mind trying,” he replied.

  The taste of coffee and gin on my tongue both woke me up and didn’t take long to start doing its magic on my empty stomach.

  As we drank, we watched the guys on the dance floor with stupid grins on our face. Bart was assertive and dominant on the floor, finding a dance partner with no trouble and making it clear what he was here for. Mick was reserved and a little tense, as usual, but Gage was at his side, joking with him to keep him at ease and getting him started dancing.

  Diego and I laughed as we watched Gage lure Mick close to another dancer and then back away, leaving the two together. Mick’s face was beet-red, but it was all in good fun.

  “We need another round,” Diego pointed out after we finished our drinks.

  “That we do,” I agreed. “Come on, the bar upstairs has the real top-shelf stuff.”

  Without thinking, I took Diego by the hand and led him upstairs, past the beautiful crystal formation and up to where it was a little quieter.

  More couples were up here together. Singles tended to gravitate to the dance floor below while others preferred to watch from above, like we were.

  “More of the same?” I asked.

  “Let’s go for something a little fresher,” he said as we approached the bar and got the bartender’s attention.

  “Couple of mint juleps, make them doubles…?” I suggested, arching an eyebrow at Diego, who gave the bartender a curious smirk.

  “Can you make a rebujito, my friend?” he asked the bartender. “Sherry and soda water, garnish with mint.”

  The bartender gave a sharp nod and got to work on our drinks.

  “Never heard of that,” I admitted when the pale peach-colored glasses came our way.

  “It’s my favorite,” he said. “They’re common in Spain, so they know how to do it best there, but our friend here has done a fine job.”

  Once we had our drinks, we made our way to the railing that overlooked the dance floor.

  “Your friends,” Diego said, gesturing to the three of them down below, “you really have something special with them, you know?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. I knew damn well what he meant, but I liked hearing the sound of his voice.

  “It’s not often you meet business partners as close as the bunch of you are,” he said. “You are all good friends, that much is clear.”

  “I wouldn’t want to do business with anyone I wouldn’t have a drink with,” I said honestly, giving him a meaningful smile. “It’s served me well so far. The guys and I go way back, but really, it’s about picking who you choose to spend your time with.”

  I slid closer to Diego, and he gave me a lidded-eyed smile, receptive as ever.

  The Spaniard was a puzzle that I loved toying with.

  “And how often do you get to choose who you spend your time around, Zane Anderson?” he asked me in a husky tone.

  “In a position like mine,” I said, “you don’t get far unless you’re very careful about picking the very best, and only the very best.”

  He looked at me long and hard, his smiling face unmoving before he spoke again. “You know what I first saw in you that made me change my mind?”

  “The promise of good tapas?”

  He laughed, but he shook his head. “Exactly what you said to me the other night.”

  My face fell, but his was still rosy and intrigued.

  “You’re a man who knows exactly what he wants.”

  The music changed, and the sherry running through my body was making me think less and less about the previous night and more about how I’d like to see how Diego handled himself on the dance floor. I nudged him with my elbow to get his attention, and as usual, the arched eyebrow he gave me made my heart throb.

  “Let’s get down there,” I said. “I’m not finishing the night without seeing how a Spaniard dances.”

  He broke out into a laugh at that, but he didn’t protest when I took him by the arm and hurried him downstairs.

  When the two of us hit the dance floor, it was like the place was made for us. We already both held commanding presences, and with the other three guys at the bar getting another round, we utterly dominated the scene. The music was fast and exciting, and any thoughts I had that Diego would prove to be shy melted away the mome
nt he started moving.

  The two of us moved like fire. We danced far apart from each other, then got closer, then moved away again. We lost track of time, the music enraptured us so much.

  Maybe it was the alcohol making me feel bolder and forget about everything around me, but I felt myself moving in for him, and he did the same for me. We got close and stayed close, and before I knew it, we were touching.

  We got another round, then hit the dance floor again. The more we had to drink, the easier it was to just let the night sweep us off our feet. And before I knew it, I was sweeping Diego off his feet with my dance moves. Nothing about him disappointed—he only impressed.

  But I had to keep it to just this. That part of my mind was still with me. Diego made that clear last time we were together.

  Just as that thought crossed my mind, Diego landed from a leaping twirl and leaned into my side, whispering into my ear.

  “Do you want to get out of here, Zane?”

  My face flushed, and I looked down at him, heart pounding. His eyes were full of meaning and desire. “My suite. You and me. Now. You asked me if I want this, Zane. I want this.”

  I stood there, the rest of the night melting away around me, my heart pounding.

  I took his hand.

  CHAPTER TEN - DIEGO

  “Grand Ridge,” I slurred, leaning forward to talk to the cab driver. “Four-oh-one-three.”

  “You live in The Lakes?” Zane asked incredulously, reaching up to pull me back to him. I slumped against the back seat, my eyes lidded as Zane’s handsome face slowly swam into focus. I gave him a broad smile and bit my lip. God, it was so hard to keep from kissing him.

  As the taxi pulled away from the curb in front of the high-end club, I nodded. “Si. Yes. Quiet neighborhood. I really like it,” I answered, stumbling over my words slightly.

  Those last couple of tequila shots had really impacted me pretty hard, but it took a lot to put me on my back. I assumed I would be halfway to sober by the time we made it back to my house, which was almost disappointing. I was afraid that the moment my liquid courage wore off, I would regret ever sliding into this cab with Zane. I didn’t want to back off and back down. I wanted Zane, and I wanted him while I was still buzzed enough not to let guilt and second thoughts stop me before we even got started.

  “I live only a few blocks from you,” Zane was saying. His voice brought me back to reality and I nodded. “We’ve been neighbors all this time and didn’t even know.”

  “It’s like fate wanted us to meet or something. Your casino next to mine. Your neighborhood next to mine. How funny,” I chuckled.

  “Fate,” he repeated a little softer. “Yeah.”

  Our eyes locked, his the exact color of a swimming pool and just as inviting. I wanted to strip down and dive in, lose myself to whatever this gorgeous, sexy man had to offer. His eyes flitted down momentarily to glance at my lips. It was just a short, quick gesture, easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention. But I was paying attention, and the realization that Zane was thinking about kissing me was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

  In a flash, I turned and pressed the button to roll up the partition between the backseat and the front of the taxi. There was no need for the cab driver to see what I was about to do with this sensual, irresistible man. I looked back at Zane, biting my lip, unsure of what road the two of us were about to go down. Distantly, in the back of my mind, an alarm bell was ringing, reminding me that I should not go through with this—whatever this is. Warning me that there could be trouble ahead if I took this leap of faith and let desire override my reason.

  But it was too late for second thoughts. Too late to pull away now. Zane was right in front of me, staring at me with those blue eyes, an expression of pure hunger and need on his handsome face. I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t know what. Not that it mattered, because before I could hunt down the words I had planned to say, Zane leaned forward, cupped his big hands around my face, and pressed his soft lips against mine. I groaned and melted into the kiss, leaning into him helplessly. There was nothing I could do but give in. I was so starved, ravenous for affection and intimacy, and I had never felt such a burning spark of attraction for any other man in my entire life. Not like I did with Zane. He was like a firecracker, too hot and unpredictable but so beautiful I could not look away even if I had wanted to.

  Kissing him was like an explosion of brightness and bliss. Pleasure rolled down through my body as Zane probed his tongue into my mouth. I parted my lips more to let him while his hands slid down to press lightly against my throat. The thrill of his fingers against my neck made me moan and move closer. I could not get enough. I needed to be touching him more. I needed to feel all of him against me, let him move and mold me however he saw fit. I was lost, adrift in a sea of overwhelming sensations, and I never wanted to find my way back.

  One of Zane’s hands slid around to the back of my neck and up, his fingers tangling in my long, dark hair as he held me in place. He kissed me hard, our lips crashing against each other’s. Zane was warm and soothing even as he thrilled and excited me. Somehow, he made me feel both safe and comfortable and out of control at the same time. A tender recklessness. I couldn’t resist him, and I didn’t want to. He gently bit my bottom lip and I moaned, reaching to hold his face in my hands. With my eyes closed, kissing him deeply, I let my fingers trace along the sharp cut of his cheekbone, his jaw, down to his broad shoulders. I could feel the bulging muscles straining through his dress shirt and blazer, and suddenly I needed to feel more of him desperately. I pushed at the shoulders of his blazer and he wordlessly broke the kiss to shrug off the jacket. He pushed up the sleeves of his crisp white dress shirt, showing off his powerful forearms. I felt a pang of desire in my groin, my heart pounding with arousal. I had not felt this way in a long time with anyone—certainly not with Alvaro.

  This was new and exciting and I wanted to keep it going as long as I could. I wanted Zane to take all of me, everything I could give him. My body, my heart, belonged solely to him, at least for the night. Zane grabbed me by the lapels of my jacket and pulled me closer, moving me to straddle him, facing him on the back seat. He smirked up at me knowingly, like he understood just how easy I was going to make this for him. He knew I was a goner, and I didn’t care. I wanted him to take me.

  I dove forward and kissed him as Zane reached around to grab my ass. I could feel his cock stiffening against my own. I rolled my hips, rubbing against him until we were both groaning. Zane tilted his head back appreciatively while he groped my ass, and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching down between us to caress his cock through his slacks. I let out an involuntary gasp, feeling how enormous he was.

  “Mierda,” I murmured, licking my lips in anticipation.

  “You like that?” Zane whispered, leaning forward so that his hot breath was ticklish against the shell of my ear. I shivered deliciously. “I’m going to give you all of that. Is that what you want, Diego?”

  I nodded, feeling my cock twitch and throb with need. “Si. Please. I need you, Mr. Anderson,” I mumbled back, nearly breathless.

  Zane grunted and grabbed me, kissing me hard. It was obvious that he rather liked being called Mr. Anderson. I made a mental note to see how he would like being called ‘sir.’ Suddenly, the cab rolled to a stop and I looked out the window to see that we were in front of my house already. The ride had gone so quickly. I hastily slid off of Zane’s lap, opened the partition to throw the cab driver a wad of cash that was probably ten times the fare, and then I grabbed Zane’s hand and pulled him out to the street behind me. No sooner had the taxi driven away than Zane was pushing me, walking me backward up to my front door. I fumbled with the key code, impatient, and as soon as the door fell open Zane shoved me inside and pressed me against the wall of the foyer. He slammed the front door closed with one powerful arm and came back to kiss me, his hands sliding down my b
ody. I panted and moaned as he massaged my cock through my dress pants. I rocked against him, closing my eyes as I lost myself to the tantalizing sensation. Zane quickly unbuttoned my pants and slid his hand down inside my boxer briefs, stroking my cock with one expert hand.

  “Fuck,” I groaned, rolling my hips involuntarily.

  Zane grabbed my hand and pressed it to his groin. I opened my eyes and stared at him hungrily, waiting for him to guide me, tell me what to do. His cock throbbed against my hand, and I caught my breath, my mouth nearly watering at the thought of sucking that enormous shaft. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait any longer. I unzipped his slacks and sank down to my knees, looking up at Zane expectantly, wanting him to give me the go-ahead.

  Zane nodded and reached down to tangle his fingers in my thick hair while I tugged down his pants. To my delight, he wasn’t wearing underwear at all. After he kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants, there was nothing else hiding his glorious, impressive shaft from me. It sprang free, thick and engorged. I gasped, feeling my own cock twitch and strain.

  “Suck my cock, Diego. Go ahead,” he urged me, his voice gravelly and rough.

  I began to stroke him, pumping his shaft while I leaned forward and sucked the sensitive head into my mouth. I flicked my tongue along the underside while I fondled his balls. Zane moaned and pressed my head down, demanding me to take his full length into my mouth. I obliged gladly, pushing down until the tip of his massive cock brushed against the back of my throat. I prided myself on having nearly no gag reflex, and I was eager to show it off. I sucked him down to the hilt, bobbing up and down on his cock while he swore and rocked his hips, fucking my mouth with as much restraint as he could muster.

  “So fucking good, baby. God, just like that,” Zane growled between gritted teeth. “Your mouth feels like heaven.”

  I moaned, turned on by his stiff cock and his filthy words. I sucked him harder and faster, working his shaft with both hands while my tongue flicked over the head. Zane reached out to brace himself against the wall while he fucked my mouth, and I could feel him starting to lose control. I was so caught up in the moment that all I could think about was making him feel good, making this glorious cock explode in my mouth. I wanted to taste his come, swallow it down, every last precious drop.